Older Americans Act: More Should Be Done to Measure the Extent of Unmet Need for Services

Question: A number of aging services such as meals and home-based care were funded through Title III of the Older Americans Act. GAO was asked to evaluate the need for such services and the extent of any unmet need. Finding: Using the NIA-funded Health and Retirement Study, GAO found that many examples of unmet needs among those not covered by low-income programs. They estimated that 21 percent of people over age 65 needed transportation assistance. In addition, they found there was not ample data with which to study and evaluate unmet need. Recommendation: DHHS should study the effectiveness of cost-sharing and develop further methods for measuring need.